Russian drone damages infrastructure, vessel at Ukraine’s largest Danube port

A sailor fixes the flag of Ukraine on a boat in Izmail, 700 km southwest of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 26, 2023.

KYIV -- A Russian overnight drone attack on Ukraine’s largest Danube river port, Izmail, damaged port infrastructure and a civilian vessel, Ukraine’s seaport authority said on Wednesday.

According to its Telegram post, fires broke out in warehouses but were extinguished by emergency services. There were no casualties.

“The enemy continues to target logistics and port infrastructure,” the country’s regional development ministry said.

Izmail lies on the Danube at the southwestern tip of Ukraine and faces Romanian territory on the other riverbank. It has become an important and frequently hit logistical node for wartime Ukraine.

After Russia blockaded Ukraine’s Black Sea ports in the Odesa region in 2022, the river ports on the Danube - in particular, Izmail - became virtually the only waterway for Ukrainian imports and exports.

Following the lifting of the port blockade in 2023, the role of the Danube ports diminished. However, Ukraine still receives shipborne cargoes of explosives and fuel exclusively via the Danube terminals.

(Reporting by Max Hunder; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Sharon Singleton)